The individual Skills Challenge for women and men will be held for the very first time at Olympic Games. In this event, the best 15 female and 15 male athletes from nations other than the ones in the tournaments are allowed to compete, plus athletes from the host country Austria. The participants were qualified from a global qualification program based on a series of individual skill tests designed by the IIHF. The qualification came to an end in July 2011 in Vierumäki, Finland.

The following Skills Challenge competitions will be held at the Youth Olympics:

Fastest Lap

Shooting Accuracy

Skating Agility

Hardest Shot

Passing Precision

Puck Control

The Skills Challenge tests take place during the 2012 Youth Olympic Winter Games at the Tyrolean Ice Arena in Innsbruck, Austria. The events will be made up of two phases: the Qualification and the Grand Final. All the skill tests will be conducted on a head-to-head, knockout basis, until a winner is declared and the participants will be seeded for each test. Players will earn points for their finishing position during each test.

The top-8 female and top-8 male players from the Qualification stage will progress to compete in the Grand Final.

During the Skills Challenge Grand Final players of each gender will compete for final individual rankings and medals.

Schedule

The Men and Women competitions will be operated during the same ice session for both the Qualification and Grand Final phases.

Introducing the tests

The following six tests will be conducted. Find below descriptions, illustrations and videos from the qualification event. For more sport-technical information download the 2012 Winter Youth Olympic Games Skills Challenge Test Operations document here. (PDF, 1 MB)

1. Fastest Lap

Pylons are placed over the, Skill Test 1, dots on the ice

The two pylons placed on the centre red line, on both sides of the rink, forms the start/finish line

All players sit on the benches

Players will start from the start/finish line on both sides of the rink

Players must start behind the start/finish line

This test is timed

The first pair of players will be called to the start line

The two (2) players will skate at the same time

The test begins on the whistle

The players will begin skating backwards in a counter-clockwise direction

When the player has completed half a lap they will pivot from backwards to forwards

The pivot must be performed either at or after the centre red line

The time will stop once any part of the player’s body (not including stick) crosses the start/finish line from which they started

2. Shooting Accuracy

Use spray paint to draw a line connecting the 3, Skill Test 2/4, dots on the ice

Pylons are placed on the ends of the line to form the shooting line

One set of 4 breakable targets are placed into each the net , 1 target per corner

The shooter is positioned behind the shooting line

Two (2) passers (coaches) are positioned behind the goal line 5 metres to either side of the net with pucks

This test is timed

The first pair of players will be called to the shooting line

Two (2) players will shoot at the same time

The test begins on the whistle

The passers will pass the pucks alternatively to the shooter

The shooter receives the passes one at a time and shoots at the targets

The shooter that hits all four targets in the shortest time is the winner

3. Skating Agility

Pylons are placed over the Skill Test 3, dots on the ice

Paint the start/finish line between the two dots across the top of the faceoff circle

Players will start from behind the start/finish line

This test is timed

The test begins on the whistle

The player skates forward towards pylon 1

At pylon 1 pivots forward to backward

Skates backwards along the outside to Pylon 2

Player pivots at Pylon 2 from backward to forward

The player skates diagonally towards Pylon 3 and pivots from forward to backward

Skates backwards along the outside to Pylon 4

At Pylon 4 the player pivots backward to forward and skates forward to goal line

Stops and skates forward to the start/finish line Start/Finish Line

4. Hardest Shot

Use spray paint to draw a line connecting the 3, Skill Test 2/4, dots on the ice

Pylons are placed on the ends of the line to form the shooting line

The radar/speed gun is placed to measure the speed of all the players’ shots

The exact placement radar/speed gun is undetermined at the moment

Group of pucks located on the Blue Line

One puck is placed behind the shooting line

Two players compete head to head at each end of the ice

One player at a time shoots the stationary puck from the shooting line

Each player attempts 2 shots

The player can skate towards the puck before shooting

They must skate from inside the near blue line

All shots must hit the net to count

Both shots are registered by radar in kilometres per hour

The fastest registered shot of two (2) attempts will be counted

The player with the fastest recorded shot wins

5. Passing Precision

5 targets, are placed over the, Skill Test 5, dots on the ice

An obstacle (hockey stick) is placed on the ice, over the test 5 dots, between the passer targets 2 and 5

Pucks are behind the blue line in the centre of the ice

The blue line marks the passing line

The passer stands behind the passing line

The test starts on the whistle

The passer has to hit each of the targets in order 1 to 5

The passer must successfully hit a target before moving to the next

At target 2 and 5 the passes must go over the obstacle (hockey stick)

The test continues until one players hits all 5 targets

The passer that hits all 5 targets in the shortest time is the winner

This test is a limited timed test of 60 seconds

If time limit is passed the number of targets and passes will count

6. Puck Control

Pylons (32) are placed over the, Skills Test 6 dots, on the ice

Goal line at one end of the ice marks the start line

Goal line at the opposite end of the ice is the finish line

Players will start the start line

This test is timed

Both players begin with their feet behind the start line

The test begins on the whistle

The player skates straight forward with the puck towards the line of 4 pylons

The player skates through the 4 pylons in a slalom pattern

In the Neutral Zone the player goes to the right pylon of the first pair

The player weaves through the 3 pairs of pylons

Players always begin with the right pylon

After the last pair of pylons, the player skates forward to the 6 remaining pylons

While straddling the pylons the player stickhandles the puck through the 6 pylons